Unidentified UNSC Marine Squad
The Unidentified UNSC Marine Squad was a UNSC Marine Corps unit lead by Sergeant Zhao Heng Lopez that participated during the Human-Covenant war. The squad was assigned to the Prowler under Commander Tobias Foucault for reconnaissance missions post Battle of Installation 04. History October 2552 The squad is introduced in a broad form when an escape pod from the freighter-turned-prison-transport Mona Lisa reveals a severally ravaged prisoner. He is secured and then stabilized by the teams Medic, Ngoc Benti and reveals little to the Marines but it becomes obvious their mission is about to change and their leader, Sergeant Lopez, after a brief discussion with the Red Horses Commander, Tobias Foucault, are disembarked aboard a pelican to locate and investigate Mona Lisa. ''Mona Lisa'' Aboard an unnamed Pelican flown by Burgundy with Rabbit in co-pilot, this unnamed squad, using a docking override, landed in the hangar of Mona Lisa. Upon exiting the Pelican with flash-lit assault rifles and Shotguns at the ready the squad detected movement and it wasn't long before they killed four unarmed Covenant Sangheili, one of which landed atop Benti, dead. The fight scattered the squad but they regrouped, except for Rabbit, who the Marines subsequently searched for whilst leaving Cranker behind to guard the Pelican. She was found crushed under the boot of a fifth unarmoured Sangheili who, upon discovery, was riddled with 7.62mm bullets by the horrified members. Upon collecting Rabbit's tags a length of her insides was observed and not believed to be Human or Covenant. Moments later Cranker was attacked in the hanger and broke contact. Separated from Burgundy in the hanger the team split up with the new primary objective being to destroy the ships "Navigation Data" as per the Cole Protocol. Benti's team consisting of Orlav, Gersten, Clarence and Tsardikos would go after the back-up in the engine room whilst Lopez along with Singh, James MacCraw and Mahmoud found and interrogated ONI Major John Smith who was the Chief Medical Officer of Mona Lisa. Within a few short minutes he unlocked a door that held a tentacle-based flood mass that grabbed Mahmoud. The door was sealed cutting the tentacles and Lopez promptly punched Smith who they searched again locating his ID-card revealing his rank and affiliation with ONI. In the Hanger, Burgundy saw a human figure approach the Pelican, she opened the hatch, grabbed an assault rifle and screamed for Cranker to get aboard believing it was him. Though upon viewing his form in the light, he is seen to be mangled and infected. Cranker impales her leg and she is dragged away. Meanwhile in the bilge of the ship, Benti's team heard and ran from a screeching noise to their rear, soon being engaged by the Flood. Tsardikos was killed and Orlav wounded deeply about the back in which Benti removed a feeding infection form from. At the next locked door Orlav had begun to mutate, she broke free and violently bit Gersten, but Clarence killed her before she could do any more harm. Benti, finally working the door, moved the team through and sealed it behind. In the same room as before, John Smith informed Lopez that they abandon ship immediately, angered by the thought of leaving her soldiers behind she struck Smith again and they headed for the bridge. Along the way Smith revealed a concealed door that lead to the research labs, there he explained to Lopez about the flood and using his cover story as a distraction, removed a blade from a drawer, cut Mahmoud's throat, took his rifle and shot back at the Marines wounding Lopez briefly only to disappear behind a locked door. Safe, Benti's team met companion inmates Patrick Rimmer armed with a knife and Sangheili "Henry" with a cricket bat. They discussed the flood briefly after Gersten was killed by Clarence for showing similar signs of infection to Orlav. However he reanimated and was shot again. Agreed upon the danger faced with the Flood, Clarence and Benti made an informal alliance with the two in order to get to the engine room. Along the way they're attacked by infection forms in which Henry saved Benti twice from the horde. They reach the engine room and witness Burgundy, being carried by Cranker- get tossed into the proto-gravemind. After further fighting Singh is crushed whilst reloading and only MacCraw and Lopez make it to the Bridge closing the door on pursuing Flood forms. There they made contact with the Red Horse and Commander Foucault who informed them to make it to the life pods as Smith had stolen their Pelican. Lopez shared the message out over the ships intercom in which Benti's group along with masses of flood hordes heard it. Breaking from the bridge door assault rifles first, the two fought their way to the pods reaching them shortly. Benti then lobbed two Frag Grenades to destroy the Slipspace Engine, she ruptured it sealing the ships fate and they evacuated to the pods. On their way however, Benti was knocked aside and impaled by a flood form, but Henry took her onward to the pods nonetheless. There Rimmer and Henry surrendered to Lopez and MacCraw who were shocked to see them with an Elite. Clarence shot Rimmer in the head and MacCraw escaped in one of the two single-occupant pods. Benti claimed Clarence was ONI-affiliated and he replied saying no one was supposed to survive. Clarence instructs Henry to let Benti go, she then tackles him down where an oncoming horde of flood swooped upon them. Lopez and Henry locked the door and eyed the last pod, she brought her assault rifle to bare but realising it was out of ammo, held the muzzle and prepared to use it as a melee weapon. The two presumably fought each other for the pod and likely died doing so. Squad Roster *Sergeant Zhao Heng Lopez (Squad Leader) *Private Ngoc Benti (Medic) *Raj Singh (Technical Specialist) *Orlav (Intelligence) *Clarence (Field Support) *Mahmoud (Field Support) *Tsardikos (Field Support) *Gersten (Field Support) *Cranker (Field Support) *James MacCraw (Rookie) Additional *Burgundy (Pilot) *Rabbit (Co-Pilot) Sources